
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Kai Zhuang, a 17-year-old Chinese exchange student, has been found alive in the Utah wilderness after going missing in what local police are calling a case of “cyber kidnapping,” a new criminal trend in which scammers extort vulnerable victims remotely, convincing their families they’ve been forcibly kidnapped and demanding ransom money.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Zhuang was reported missing on Dec. 28, after his family in China contacted his school in the U.S. to report they’d received images that suggested he was forcibly kidnapped, even as Zhuang’s host family in the U.S. told police they had seen Zhuang earlier that day and were unaware of a forcible kidnapping,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=788485949980868&amp;set=pcb.788486709980792" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to Riverdale, Utah Police Chief Casey Warren.</p>



<p>His family paid approximately $80,000 in ransom money to Chinese bank accounts after receiving “continuous threats from the kidnappers” about Zhuang’s safety, police said.</p>



<p>Meanwhile, the scammers were threatening Zhuang for possibly a month, telling him if he didn’t comply with their demands, his family would be harmed in China, and ordering him to isolate himself in the woods and send photos to his parents, Warren said in a Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ksltv/videos/1094551185237234" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">press conference.</a></p>



<p>The Riverdale Police and Weber County Sheriff’s Office used bank and phone data to track Zhuang’s movements and general area and conducted a drone search and rescue, finding Zhuang camping in the Brigham City canyon area alive “but very cold and scared,” police said.</p>



<p>In his press statement, Warren said that, as part of the investigation, the FBI had briefed the department of this “disturbing criminal trend,” highlighting similar cases that have been targeting foreign exchange students—and Chinese foreign exchange students, in particular.</p>



<p>In these “cyber kidnapping” cases, the scammers tell victims to isolate themselves and may convince them under duress to make it appear they are being held captive—in some cases even contacting the victim via webcam and sending voice recordings to the families.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Other local law enforcement agencies have reported so-called cyber kidnapping cases—last month, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/GrantCoSheriff/posts/pfbid0aHnLAcV63R5CLaNcUdsJG8XDJJGtaUMR4We46iRPn3dHnrJ4huNZpaBUAXtmgyv6l" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grant County Sheriff’s Office</a>&nbsp;in Washington reported receiving similar cases. In some, scammers have been suspected of using artificial intelligence to mimic the victim’s voice or likeness. Earlier this year, CNN&nbsp;<a href="https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/04/29/us/ai-scam-calls-kidnapping-cec/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;on the case of Jennifer DeStefano in Arizona, who received a cyber kidnapping call that included fake audio of her daughter screaming—which she believes was generated with artificial intelligence. In June, the FBI issued&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2023/PSA230605" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a warning</a>&nbsp;about scammers’ use of artificial intelligence to generate explicit images of victims to harass or extort—also known as a “sextortion” scam. But the FBI has also been warning about these cyber kidnapping scams as far back as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/virtual-kidnapping" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2017.</a>&nbsp;The Bureau noted then that these cases have been known to law enforcement for at least two decades, but used to be common mostly along the southern border. They’ve since evolved to reach residents all over the U.S.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>$8.8 billion. That’s how much money Americans lost in scams in 2022, with $2.6 billion of that in so-called imposter scams,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/02/new-ftc-data-show-consumers-reported-losing-nearly-88-billion-scams-2022" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the Federal Trade Commission.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>Following Zhuang’s case, the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. warned Chinese citizens, especially students, “to boost safety awareness, take necessary precautions, and stay vigilant against ‘virtual kidnapping’ and other forms of telecom and online fraud so as to protect their personal and property safety.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>The Riverdale Police Department noted that if you believe you are the victim of a cyber kidnapping, “do not send money, discontinue contact with the suspects, and contact police immediately.”</p>


Unknown person in the hood, reaches out from the darkness to the laptop. Theft of household and computer equipment

What Is ‘Cyber Kidnapping’? Chinese Exchange Student Latest Victim Of ‘Disturbing’ Trend

<p>Deloitte, known popularly in the United States as one of the &#8220;Big Four&#8221; accounting firms, has confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber attack. Not all of the details have been made public, but a Deloitte spokesperson noted that the attacker accessed data from an email platform.</p>
<p>According to the spokesperson, a review of the email platform is now complete. Their findings? While the company didn&#8217;t provide specific information, the spokesperson did say that, &#8220;Importantly, the review enabled us to understand precisely what information was at risk and what the hacker actually did and to determine that only very few clients were impacted and no disruption has occurred to client businesses, to Deloitte’s ability to continue to serve clients, or to consumers.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/06/28/mayday-mayday-ive-hacked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayday! Mayday! I&#8217;ve Been Hacked</a></p>
<p>Deloitte’s response to the attack has included &#8220;implementing its comprehensive security protocol and initiating an intensive and thorough review which included mobilizing a team of cyber-security and confidentiality experts inside and outside of Deloitte; contacting governmental authorities immediately after it became aware of the incident; and, contacting each of the very few clients impacted.&#8221;</p>
<p>The company did not release any hard numbers or indicate whether the attacks affected individual clients. Speculation within the cyber security world has theorized that the attacks were focused on corporate clients and not individual clients but that information has not been confirmed.</p>
<p>No one person or company has yet claimed responsibility for the hack. However, the fact that the attack appeared to target email systems to gain access to client information &#8211; possibly corporate client information &#8211; would suggest that the hackers were cyber criminals looking to steal data that could be sold.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2017/06/28/petya-notpetya-latest-ransomware-deadlier-wannacry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Petya Or NotPetya: Why The Latest Ransomware Is Deadlier Than WannaCry</a></p>
<p>It&#8217;s the second announcement of a high-profile cyber hack this month. Earlier, Equifax <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurengensler/2017/09/07/equifax-says-143-million-americans-potentially-impacted-in-cyber-attack/?utm_source=TWITTER&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=1064233649&amp;utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesMainTwitter#5d45a3a95097" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that hackers had gained access to personal information for nearly 143 million Americans. The hack raised eyebrows about security at the company and eventually resulted in the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2017/09/26/equifax-ceo-out-after-massive-security-hack/#44596f3321ee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resignation</a> of Richard Smith, the company&#8217;s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).</p>
<p>Deloitte offers audit &amp; assurance, consulting, risk and financial advisory, risk management, tax, and related services to clients around the world. Two weeks ago, Deloitte Global <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/global-revenue-announcement.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> revenues of $38.8 billion for the last fiscal year. Among the industries credited with driving that growth? Risk Advisory revenue.</p>
<p>A spokesperson for the company added that &#8220;Deloitte remains deeply committed to ensuring that its cyber-security defenses are best in class, to investing heavily in protecting confidential information and to continually reviewing and enhancing cyber security.&#8221; &#8211; <span class="fs-author-name contrib-byline-author"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Kelly Phillips Erb</a></span><span class="comma">, </span><span class="contrib-byline-type"><span class="fs-text-s forbes-staff">FORBES STAFF</span></span></p>


Tag: cyber security

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

What Is ‘Cyber Kidnapping’? Chinese Exchange Student Latest Victim Of ‘Disturbing’ Trend

Big Four Accounting Firm Deloitte Confirms Cyber Attack